3300 Activities - This section contains the general characteristics of work program activities.

 
Assignment to activities should be employment focused with client goals and family needs taken into consideration. Information gained from the Self-Assessment and career/skills assessments such as the WorkKeys should provide the basis for collaboration between the EES case manager, the client and DCF community partners or work program activity providers. With the exception of Physical Health Care and Mental Health Care clients placed in Zero Hour activities which don’t count towards federal participation should be placed in a corresponding Primary activity such as Job Search/Job Readiness, Vocational Education or Work Experience. See the individual activities for clarification. An individual client should never be assigned to work activities in excess of 40 hours per week.

Work program progress reviews should occur as needed, but no less than once every 6 months. The progress review needs to document the client and the EES case manager have discussed the progress made toward self-sufficiency since the last review. Planned activities for the next six months will be documented at this time. The work program progress review may occur at the same time as a yearly TANF review, at a Food Assistance Interim review and/or whenever a change is reported.

3300.1 Work Activity Monitoring and Verification Requirements - Kansas employs a Sample Reporting Methodology for TANF work participation     . All actual hours of work activities must be supervised, verified and documented in order to count in the work participation rate.

The case record must contain documentation of all hours of reported work participation. Paid employment must be documented by such things as pay stubs, time cards, sign-in/sign-out sheets, or rosters with recorded hours of work.

Non-employment activities must be documented by such things as time sheets, service provider attendance records, or school attendance records.

Internal controls ensure compliance with these procedures.

Hours missed due to excused absences up to 2 days or 16 hours per month but not to exceed 10 days or 80 hours per year, may be reported for clients in unpaid allowable work activities if the client was scheduled to participate during the period of the excused absence. Approved holidays may also be counted for unpaid allowable work activities if the client was scheduled to participate and the provider was closed that day. The approved holidays are: New Years Day, Martin Luther King Day, Veteran’s Day, President’s Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Documented supervised study time and un-supervised study time up to an hour for each hour of scheduled class time may count for work participation. The total of supervised and un-supervised study time may not exceed the hours required by the educational program for successful completion of the course.

3300.2  Job Skills Training/Education Directly Related to Employment/ Attendance at Secondary School Review and Authorization Guidelines
 

1. Review Guidelines - The following review guidelines are applicable to all education/training activities:
   
   Except for teen clients, education activities should be utilized in conjunction with other activities unless otherwise documented in the case record.
   
   Frequent contact with clients and adult education providers or other providers is of key importance. Monitoring of actual attendance with the provider should be obtained and documented in the case record monthly. Daily supervision is required.
   
   Evaluation of progress toward the education goals may include input from all relevant sources such as: the client, instructor, counselor, and worker. The evaluation process will result in a decision regarding the continuation of the activity or any changes necessary to effectively address the clients' goals.
   
   Support for these activities may be denied if the client does not     attend classes as scheduled; maintain at least a satisfactory GPA (i.e., "C" or 2.0) or as established by the institution for the current semester; progress toward completing the course of study in a reasonable documented time frame based on the individual’s situation. Exceptions to this policy require supervisory approval and must be extensively documented in the case record.
    

2. Authorization Guidelines - It is necessary to authorize these activities in order to:
    

   • Provide supportive services for clients; and
      

   • Pay activity costs.
      

   These activities require daily supervision which means daily oversight of the client’s participation, not necessarily daily in-person contact. A review of client attendance records, grade point average or progress report, etc. shall be made prior to approval of further supportive services.
    

      
    

   Educational/training activities should be offered to a client if available and the assessment indicates that these activities would be appropriate. Participation in prior work program activities may provide useful information on the client's ability to succeed in these activities.
    

   Correspondence or On-Line Distance Learning courses may be authorized on a case by case basis if the course meets the criteria for approved Vocational Education or Job Skills Training. Institutions offering correspondence or On-Line Distance Learning courses must provide a method of documenting attendance and progress towards timely course completion through daily supervision.
    

   Short-term, job-focused, and skill specific college courses are approvable, including courses directed toward an associate's degree, and a Bachelor’s degree.
   
   Examples of other approvable short term job focused and skill specific training/vocational education may include:
    

   • Vocational technical curriculums such as Licensed Practical Nursing or Office Management; or
      

   • Child care provider certification.
      

   No payments for supportive services or costs for approved activity may be issued for months prior to the month for which the activity was approved.
    

   A determination that training is inappropriate, unrealistic, or unnecessary at any point in the process would be adequate basis to deny the training request.
    

   The following criteria must be documented in order to authorize/approval training activities:
    

   1. In order to determine current skills before approval, staff must document the results of the assessment or the results of actual participation work program activities.
       

   2. Proposed training is for employment in a Demand Occupation. Demand is based on projected growth for a given occupation over the next ten years. Growth is determined by projecting new openings plus projected departures from existing openings minus projected training graduates.
      
      Information on demand occupations is available on The Kansas Labor Information Center/High Demand Occupations. Training may be authorized for employment in non-demand occupations in thoroughly documented situations. EES staff may consult with EES Administration, WIOA, job service staff, and/or educational facilities. Supervisory approval is required for approval in non-demand occupations.
      
      NOTE: To determine if the requested training is for employment in a demand occupation:
       

   3. • Click on High demand Occupations,;
         

      • Click on the appropriate Excel file or click on the state map to view in-depth reports and charts.

        
        

   3. Willingness of client to re-locate.
       

   NOTE: Plans approved by Rehabilitation Services (RS), WIOA, or the Kansas Foster Child Educational Assistance Act of Foster Care Tuition Waiver Program or the Work Force Development Loan Program are approved activities for work program participation.